Think tank: GOP health care plan could cost Ohio billions

COLUMBUS — A nonpartisan think tank says Ohio would lose billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding under the Republican plan to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

A new analysis by the Cleveland-based Center for Community Solutions concludes the plan could cost Ohio over $25 billion by 2025.

The GOP plan would change how the federal government helps states pay for the tax-funded health insurance program. The center’s analysis says the resulting payments wouldn’t be enough in Ohio to keep pace with health care costs.

The state expanded Medicaid in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act, and it now serves over 3 million poor and disabled Ohioans.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Ohio’s proposed Medicaid budget for next year is projected at $28 billion, including federal funding.